


catching feelings

by madhoney



Category: NCT (Band), WayV (Band)
Genre: Canon Compliant, First Kiss, Happy Ending, Kissing, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, One Shot, Pining, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:27:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21566860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madhoney/pseuds/madhoney
Summary: “You’ve trained so much for this,” Kun said. “You don’t need anyone to take care of you. You don’t need me to take care of you.”His voice strained at the end, like Kun’s throat tensed around the words, not wanting to let them out.“I know,” Ten whispered. He knew his voice sounded weak. “But I like the way you take care of me.”
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun
Comments: 53
Kudos: 483
Collections: In Every Lifetime: A KunTen Fan Week





	catching feelings

**Author's Note:**

> i've been writing and rewriting this for MONTHS and i finally finished it. i'm so happy to share this totally self-indulgent, labor-of-love fic with everyone so please enjoy!! <3

Ten swiped his pencil over the crisp paper of his notebook, more or less absentmindedly. It was dark out still, but he wasn’t sure what time it was exactly. He didn’t want to know anyway.

He heard the creak of a door down the hall opening, and quiet footsteps shuffling closer and closer.

“What are you doing up?” 

Ten paused his hand, glancing over to the entry of the common area. He recognized Kun’s voice first and his figure second.

“Couldn’t sleep,” Ten said simply, turning back to his doodle. “You?”

“Me neither,” Kun murmured, turning into the kitchen. He turned the kettle on and pulled the box of tea bags out of the cupboard. He looked over his shoulder. “Chamomile?”

Ten hummed and soon Kun was carrying two warm mugs into the living room. He set one down beside Ten and kept his cupped between his hands. 

It was odd when the house was this still. There wasn’t typically peace like this when everyone was home. 

Kun turned to Ten. “Are you all packed?”

“Yes,” Ten sighed.

“And you know what time your car will be here tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“Did you say all your goodbyes?”

Ten lowered his pencil into the crevice of his book and set it down on the cushion beside him, trading it for his cup of tea. He took a sip while Kun watched him – eyes not scrutinizing, just attentive.

“Almost.”

The room fell silent, Ten not rushing to speak and Kun not pressing him.

Ten would be leaving for a separate schedule in the morning. He would be gone for a while and had been postponing his farewell to Kun – Ten was sure he knew it, too. 

In fact, Ten has been avoiding him lately in general. 

Ten blew on his tea, letting the floral scent fill his nose. 

He didn’t know exactly what he wanted to say to Kun. They had been so close for years – experiencing so many ups and downs by each other’s side.

Of course, there was fighting in the beginning. So much arguing – endless bickering. They came from different worlds with different points of view, but in the end, it led to a better understanding of each other. They learned to grow together. Their relationship was hard-earned, and Ten wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Kun had taken him under his wing and Ten couldn’t be more thankful. He became someone Ten could lean on, someone who always offered a shoulder when Ten needed a good cry. And he never asked questions or expected anything in return. 

These days, Kun was like a security blanket for him, providing a sense of comfort and protection in a way that nothing else could. He took care of Ten – made sure that he ate enough, slept enough. Kun made him feel safe, like it was just a natural instinct for him.

The resulting relationship was something deeply significant for Ten, but fragile – so fragile that he was afraid even thinking about it too much would somehow harm it.

So he started avoiding Kun. He figured less conversation and less contact would hopefully soften the blow of being away from him. 

“You okay?”

Ten looked up and suddenly felt his forehead unscrunch – he hadn’t even realized he was doing it.

“I’m fine,” he mumbled, pulling at the hem of his shorts anxiously. “Just...nervous.”

“Don’t be nervous.”

Ten snorted, a dark smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “That helps.”

Kun rolled his eyes but scooted closer.

“I mean,” Kun started, lowering his hand onto Ten’s, squeezing gently. “You’ll be amazing. Just like you are at everything else. So don’t be nervous.”

Ten’s relaxed, furtively admiring the look of Kun’s hand on his own. A blush warmed his cheeks and he was thankful the lighting was probably too dim for Kun to tell. He rotated his palm around and laced his fingers between Kun’s.

He kept his gaze low, trained on the tea bag floating in his mug, knowing he probably shouldn’t be indulging himself like this. But it was nice, feeling Kun’s pulse against his own.

This wouldn’t be his last chance for this, he knew that, but he wanted to take this feeling with him. 

It was quiet again. It felt right and comfortable. Easy. A little weight lifted off Ten’s shoulders, even if the elder was staring at him.

Kun slowly untangled their hands and retracted.

“Come on, finish your tea,” he said, no doubt observing the dark circles hanging beneath Ten’s eyes. “You really need some sleep.”

Ten frowned and sipped down the remainder of his chamomile before Kun brought the mugs to the sink. 

He lead Ten down the hall to their room. Once inside, the younger closed the door carefully so it wouldn’t disturb the others in the house, before turning to Kun, who was pulling down the covers on his bed again.

“Hey, I’m sorry, I just…” he said nervously, heat pooling in his cheeks again. “I— I’m really gonna miss you is all. A lot, I guess…”

Ten shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other, watching as Kun fluffed up his pillows.

“It’s...been a long time since we’ve been so far apart for a while,” Kun noted.

Ten chewed his lip. Kun slid under his comforter. 

“Is that...all you have to say?” Ten asked, brows furrowed. He glanced in the direction of his luggage lined up neatly by the door. The impending departure had his feelings bubbling to the surface. He couldn’t stifle it anymore – it was becoming unavoidable, _unbearable_ , for Ten. 

He started wringing his hands, certain that everything was going to come out like word vomit now. 

“I mean, I know I’ve been a little distant and shit lately... and I know it seems like I avoided your goodbye, but—” he gulped, tears pricking his eyes. “That's because I don’t want to say goodbye to you, I—”

“Sleep here tonight.”

Ten blinked at him, tears retreating back into his ducts. 

“What?”

“If you want to,” Kun added quietly. “It’s not very different from when we used to fall asleep together watching movies on the couch.”

Ten swallowed, his throat was dry. He could only nod before crossing the room.

Kun shimmied over to give him some room and held the covers up as Ten slid his knee onto the mattress. 

He moved himself beneath the sheets and settled his head into the pillow. It was cool and soft against his skin, making Ten shiver on contact – or maybe it was just the proximity of Kun’s face to his. 

“Are you cold?”

Ten shook his head and tried not to stare at Kun’s lips, the outline of which he could just barely make out in the dark. His brain was probably filling in the gaps from memory. He spent a lot of time recalling their plump shape late at night.

Ten rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, hoping it would shake loose his thoughts about how those lips would feel against his own. He took a deep breath, fingers curling over the top of the comforter.

It didn’t feel like sleep was on its way anytime soon.

“Ten?”

“I thought you wanted me to sleep.”

“In a second. I just have something to say,” Kun started, clearing his throat. “I know you’re nervous. Maybe a little scared, even… But I promise you’ll do great. I know how hard you’ve worked for this.”

The younger finally exhaled, long and slow. He turned back on his side. Kun seemed much closer now, his presence comforting.

“I’m scared to be alone,” Ten muttered, voice nearly breaking. “I'm scared of not having you by my side… taking care of me…”

Kun’s eyelids lower, and Ten admired the beauty of his long lashes fanning out against his cheeks.

“You’ve trained so much for this,” Kun said. “You don’t need anyone to take care of you. You don’t need _me_ to take care of you.”

His voice strained at the end, like Kun’s throat tensed around the words, not wanting to let them out. 

“I know,” Ten whispered. He knew his voice sounded weak. “But I like the way you take care of me.”

Kun brought his hand up to the other’s cheek and Ten felt the trembling in his fingertips. 

“Oh, Tennie…”

That was it. He couldn’t hold back any longer.

Ten’s heart thumped against his ribcage, the sound drowning out his thoughts. He sucked in a breath and inched forward at a slow, stuttering pace, like he wasn’t at all sure of what he was doing. 

But Kun didn’t stop him. He didn’t move away as Ten’s soft lips met his in a barely-there connection. 

And Kun was so fluffy and delicate, like perfectly symmetrical clouds. Ten froze, just wanting to memorize the feeling of Kun’s lips against his own. He wanted this moment of bliss branded firmly onto his brain.

But then he remembered himself and pulled away. His lips were still tingling, and Kun’s hand remained flush against his cheek. Ten was sure he could feel the growing heat under his skin.

“I…” Ten breathed. “Kun, I—”

He paused, because he didn’t know what else to say and the elder was boring a hole through him.

“Why did you do that?” Kun asked.

“I don’t know, I just…wanted to,” he murmured. “For a long time, but— I’m sorry...”

Kun’s eyes searched Ten’s in the dark. Ten didn’t mind feeling vulnerable with Kun – it didn’t scare him. The only thing that scared him was the idea of life without the person beside him.

“Why did you stop?” 

Ten’s heart stuck in his throat at Kun’s words.

Before he could form a response, Kun leaned in once more. This time, he shifted, lips gliding until they conformed against the shape of Ten’s.

It was gentle but dynamic – better than what Ten had imagined in his daydreams. But he couldn’t process that right now. He couldn’t process any thoughts that weren’t about the faint hint of rose he could taste from Kun’s lip balm, or the way the elder’s nose brushed against his cheek.

Kun was tender, relaxed, like he was savoring every taste of Ten’s tongue when it slid against his own. He molded over his lips again and again as if mapping out their shape and committing it to memory.

So it surprised Ten when he retreated, leaving him breathless and wanting more. 

Ten pouted, mourning the loss of contact.

“You really need to sleep now,” Kun advised softly after a moment of catching his breath. “And if I don’t stop us now then we won’t stop until the sun’s out.”

Kun’s thumb stroked along Ten’s flushed cheek and the younger’s sore lips stretched out into a smile. 

Ten nodded. He could feel it now – the heaviness in his eyelids, as Kun circled an arm around Ten’s waist and pulled him closer.

Ten nuzzled against his chest, letting the rhythm of Kun’s heartbeat lull him to sleep.

///

Ten tripped out of bed at 5:13 am, only after Kun shook him awake. His alarm had apparently been going off across the room for some time now.

He wriggled into his jeans and pulled on a fresh t-shirt.

He shoved his phone in his pocket and threw his iPad in his bag, along with a few other last minute items. Kun held out a hoodie for him.

“You packed all your chargers?”

Ten pulled the sweatshirt over his head. “Yes.”

“And your toner? You’re always forgetting that.”

“Yes, I have it,” Ten said, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

Kun helped Ten sling his heavy bag over his shoulder. 

“Are you ready?”

“Just about.”

He reached up and clasped his hands against Kun’s cheeks. 

The kiss was full and sublime, but not near enough to keep the both of them sated. Still, when Ten’s phone dinged with an alert that the car had arrived, Kun clutched Ten’s wrists and tilted back.

“Better get going,” Kun mumbled. “Text me when you land?”

Ten hummed but didn’t move away. 

“I promise I’ll be here to kiss you when you get back,” Kun whispered, nudging his nose against Ten’s.

The younger smiled shyly, finally finding the motivation to move his feet.

“Bye, Kun.”

“See you soon, Tennie.”

~

**Author's Note:**

> AHHHH thank you so much for reading!!!
> 
> i hope you loved it as much as i enjoyed writing it for kunten nation <3
> 
> please leave some kudos and kind comments!!
> 
> [twt!](https://twitter.com/mad__honey) [cc!](https://curiouscat.me/mad__honey)


End file.
